Columbia Leaders Announce Immediate Measures to Combat Downtown Crime

Columbia's Mayor Barbara Buffaloe and University of Missouri System President Mun Choi have jointly acknowledged the serious crime issues in downtown Columbia following a deadly triple shooting that killed a college student. They announced immediate measures to enhance public safety, including increased staffing for the Columbia Police Department and University police, additional patrols by Boone County Sheriff's deputies and Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers during peak times, and a review of city ordinances to improve crowd control. The leaders also plan to meet with Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe and federal authorities to discuss prosecutive resources and programs to combat crime. These efforts reflect a sustained partnership among local government, university, law enforcement, and community stakeholders to address public safety concerns. Separately, in British Columbia, Canadian regional mayors are calling for urgent criminal justice reform to tackle chronic offenders, highlighting systemic delays and declining public confidence in the justice system as contributing factors to crime.